Flexibility and programmability along with improved efficiencies and reduced footprints flavor requirements for military power supplies today from unmanned aircraft to ground vehicles to Navy warships.

Regardless of platform – air, ground, or sea – designers of power suppliers for military electronics applications find commonality driving many of their designs as the end user wants devices that can be used across multiple platforms and meet multiple power requirements regardless of the end application.

Users want solutions that “comply with different military power requirements” so they apply them to multiple applications, says Jeremy Ferrell, manager of Standard Product Engineering for VPT Inc. in Roanoke, Virginia. This puts pressure on designers to design that flexibility from the ground up.

For example, VPT’s “VXR series was designed around being very flexible and meeting many different military and commercial aviation requirements, including MIL-STD-704, MIL-STD-1275 and DO-160,” Ferrell says. (Figure 1). This device enables the user “to attach the heatsink on either side, giving more flexibility to the end user’s system design,” he adds.

Programmability and cyber

Like many other electronics endeavors within the Department of Defense (DoD) space, users want increased flexibility to extend to programmability and connectivity.

“We are seeing more programmable features being requested for all power products, including power supplies, solid-state power controllers, and motor controllers,” says John Santini, vice president of power engineering at Data Device Corp. (DDC – Bohemia, New York). “The military recognizes the total cost of ownership, including the logistics of support, so we see a strong desire for reuse and a push for additional features and specifications to allow a part to be used in multiple applications.”

With better programmability also comes the request for more connectivity.

“Connectivity has rapidly become the norm for power products,” Santini says. “While simple serial data links such as RS-232 and RS-485 have been popular for years, we are seeing faster and more complex protocols being requested, such as CAN, 1553, Firewire, Ethernet, and EtherCAT.”

However, increasing connectivity also provides cyber risks. Power supplies are no different than other electronics in terms of cyber protection in today’s world. Nearly every piece of electronics – hardware and software – is considered from a cyber threat perspective in the DoD.

The reality is that “countering cybersecurity threats is an important element in any military platform,” adds Leo Carbonneau, field application engineer at Milpower Source in Belmont, New Hampshire. “The vast majority of power conversion products are not connected to a network, and therefore do not require specific cybersecurity tools.”

That does not mean that cybersecurity is not a huge issue right now. What it does mean is that companies are “addressing TEMPEST requirements to prevent against unintended electrical emissions can be an important communications security [COMSEC] step,” Carbonneau clarifies. “A handful of customers do address TEMPEST requirements.”

[Editor’s note: TEMPEST is a National Security Agency specification and NATO certification referring to spying on information systems through leaking emanations, including unintentional radio or electrical signals, sounds, and vibrations. The NSA’s TEMPEST spec covers the methods used both to spy upon others and how to shield equipment against this kind of spying. The protection efforts are also known as emission security (EMSEC), which is a subset of communications security (COMSEC).]

Figure 1: The VXR100-2800S DC/DC converter is designed for a range of applications, from military ground vehicles to commercial and military aircraft. Photo courtesy of VPT, Inc.

Reliability is everything

When it comes to power supplies, reliability overarches all requirements. The power supply is critically important, since without power, any system is unusable.

“Military customers are seeking a truly rugged military power conversion solution,” Carbonneau says. “MIL-STD-461 EMI-qualified solutions [for addressing] conducted emissions is a primary concern. It is not uncommon for customers, before bench testing, to verify meeting all output specifications to first run an EMI [electromagnetic interference] conducted scan as this has been the most problematic.”

The military is very specific about what it needs for mission-critical systems and users “should be aware that all power conversion solutions do not address EMI adequately for military environments, which may result in the need for an external filter, which may adversely impact the power supply operation,” Carbonneau adds.

“Every power conversion solution is not equal; companies sourcing a power supply for use in a military environment should pay close attention to product qualification and design attributes evident between a commercial and a true military grade power conversion solution,” he continues.

Commercial/industrial versus military reliability

The military power supply market encompasses multiple applications, so much so that “The military power supply market tends to track the military market in general. Military power supplies usually need to operate over more stringent environmental conditions,” Santini says.

Compared to their commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) counterparts, “[Military] specifications are usually more restrictive since their mission is typically critical,” Santini. “Commercial and industrial supplies are usually optimized for a given percentage of the market, while most military power supplies have to work – and be reliable – under all expected environmental conditions.”

For example, Carbonneau observes, “In the commercial market, operating temperature range is less strenuous, mechanical requirements are minimal, and low cost is the primary objective Most commercial power supplies are designed and manufactured in China, often using overstressed questionable components. In the military market, components need to be of a much higher quality, operating temperature is much wider, mechanical requirements are strenuous, weight is important, obsolescence is to be avoided, and component traceability is important.”

“The Senate Armed Services Committee delivered a clear message to the defense community regarding the selection of power supply products for use in military systems,” Carbonneau says, pointing to the National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2018.

“In the ‘Commercial off-the-shelf power supplies’ section, on page 199 of the document, the committee communicated two key points pertaining to the selection of power supplies for military applications,” Carbonneau notes. “First, it noted that COTS parts (e.g., products not designed to MIL standards) introduce unnecessary risk and are a primary source of failures in military systems. The committee went on to request that program managers and acquisition professionals prioritize the design and qualification of the power supply products selected for use in military applications.”

So, while commercial users do not need worry about many of these requirements, they like the military still has to contend with reduced size, weight, and power (SWaP) restrictions, which some may argue is the the biggest trend across all military electronics applications, even more so than cyber.

SWaP then and now

Historically, changes to power supply technology have been evolutionary rather than revolutionary, Santini points out. “The major disruptions have been the power switches that drive them.”

The history of power supplies show that the “earliest solid-state switches were germanium,” Santini says. “Then germanium was displaced by silicon, bipolar transistors gave way to FETs [field-effect transistors], while most recently the introduction of silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) parts is proving to be the next step. These changes have pushed switching frequencies up, and as switching frequencies go up, size and weight go down. Lower saturation losses and faster switching times reduce power losses, pushing efficiency up. Dissipating less power helps make the power supply smaller.”

Cutting-edge technology has proven to help meet the constant SWaP challenge. For example, says Santini, “[SiC] and [GaN] nitride parts are enabling switching times a fraction of the parts of just a few years ago. Output rectifier diodes are being implemented as synchronous switches in more and more designs.”

Santini points to DDC’s 60 W DC-DC Converter, “a legacy triple output 60 W design, which will soon be upgraded to a GAN-driven design.” It is currently a 60 W DC-DC Converter (Figure 2), however, “raising the frequency to 450 kHz could increase the output power rating to over 200 W.”

Figure 2: Data Device Corp. (DDC) PWR-82415. Photo courtesy of DDC.

Moreover, “Control methodology has also played a part in this evolution,” Santini adds. “The availability of small, fast microcontrollers has enabled overall control to improve. Early uses were typically for monitoring and housekeeping, and later for cycle-by-cycle control.”

The end result: Fully digital power supplies that enable the programmability and connectivity that users are asking for. “Today, many power supplies are fully under digital control,” Santini notes. “As topologies, magnetics, and other passive components are developed to take advantage of these new parts, you can expect size and weight to continue to shrink, as efficiency continues to rise.”

This evolution has moved the industry toward small-form-factor power supplies, primarily VPX, Carbonneau says: “The VPX standard makes available compatible cards from different manufacturers, all based on a standard connector and mechanical design. This minimizes the packaging design, including the backplane, and can take advantage of off-the-shelf modules.”

Milpower’s 4065 VPX VITA 62 3U power supply (Figure 3) “is wedgelock conduction-cooled, providing six outputs at 600 W with an input voltage range of 18Vdc to 48Vdc over the full operating temperature range of -55 °C to +85 °C,” as Carbonneau describes the product.

“While a standard is being sought, this should not be confused with COTS solutions. The ability of a VPX power conversion solution to perform consistently in a military environment is critical,” Carbonneau adds.

As threats evolve globally the demand and investment continues to grow in military application areas such as electronic warfare (EW), radar, unmanned systems, and communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR).

The U.S. military market is trending upward in terms of investment under the new Trump Administration as evidenced by the increase in the Department of Defense FY 2018 budget request. Modernization of current radar, EW, ground, and sea platforms continues as well as investment in research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) in new systems such as unmanned undersea vehicles. According to market analysts these application areas are not flat and are projected to grow over the next five years.

Overall C4ISR market

“The key for C4ISR at the strategic level will be missile defense and at the tactical level it will be sea and land platforms and electronic warfare,” says Brad Curran, industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “Globally the emphasis is on making sure U.S. allies, NATO countries, Japan, Australia, have the technological capability to talk with us and share data and targeting. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) are going well financially and politically.

Frost and Sullivan’s forecast numbers reflect that positive growth. “For 2017 there has been about $42 billion spent on C4ISR technology with a growth rate of 3 percent through 2022. For 2017 programs of record, the services each got about $11 billion in program spending a piece. Within the DoD budget request there was about 920 C4ISR program line items. The biggest area was surveillance and reconnaissance with almost $48 billion funded at 6 percent CAGR for a total of 920 programs total; [This is an increase of about] $3.0 billion over the prior year. The fastest growing C4ISR application area is electronic warfare, up 22 percent from last year’s budget.

Among the leading prime contractors there are no surprises. “The biggest C4ISR company is Lockheed Martin with $5.4 billion in contract funding and with about 11 percent market share,” Curran says. “Next up is Northrop Grumman at $5.26 billion or 10 percent market share.”

The top ten primes received 47 percent of the money, he notes. “They are from the top: Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Boeing, General Atomics, BAE Systems, Booze Allen Hamilton, Microsoft, Leonardo, and Harris. At the end of 2016, there were 515 total prime contractors, There were also many little ones, but our numbers show a total of 1,274 major contacts totaling $51 billion.”

Radar

Year after year the military radar market continues to show strong growth and investment and this year is no different. “The military radar market is still looking good with new missile defense requirements driving it via programs such as the Army’s Integrated Air Defense System, Patriot radar upgrades, the Navy’s AMDR, and counter-UAS (unmanned aerial system) solutions,” Curran says. “When you look at FMS for radar systems, there is also growth. Companies such as Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are supplying technology from Israel to Australia for everything from new systems to lifetime support contracts.

“A total of 49 U.S. military radar contracts were awarded in 2016 and were valued at $2.56 billion,” Curran notes. “Boeing was on top with their win on the F-15 APG 16 Version 3 radar improvement program valued at $558.4 million. They are taking the fleet of F-15s and giving them much improved eyesight.

Other large programs include the Marine Corps Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) program led by Northrop Grumman, he continues. This is in procurement and low rate initial production (LRIP) and valued at $375 million.

“Something I believe to be important even though it does not cost the Army much money is CRAM,” he says. “Operationally it’s going to be huge because it can function as an early warning system for incoming missiles and also can provide counter-battery fire. The CRAM can track where incoming fire originates, triangulating the situation while warning troops of the threat. It will also be a future foundation for using kinetic or laser weapons to shoot down incoming artillery mortar shells and anti-tank shells. Lockheed Martin’s T-53 falls into this category and is slated for another $16.5 billion.”

Raytheon’s biggest contract in 2016 was a $110 million LRIP for the AMDR S-band, Curran adds. “The company also received funding to Patriot configuration 3+ radar upgrade for the Army. Harris was also a player in 2016 with an IDIQ contract for 42 COTS precision approach radar 21 systems for the Navy, Army, and Air Force.

Electronic Warfare

“EW funding also continues to increase,” Curran says. “Contracts awarded in 2016 totaled about $4.6 billion. Program funding increased $860 million for 2018. 2016 contracts increased $2.5 billion over 2015. The biggest one at $79 million went to Booze Allen Hamilton to run the Joint Improvised Threat Defeat Agency. This is an administration contract.

“For EW gear the largest contract went to Boeing, which received $308 million for the Next Generation Jammer for F-18 Growler,” Curran continues. “Raytheon won $253 million for Next Generation Jammer development model pods. For engineering and manufacturing Boeing has the airplane while Raytheon has the actual jammer pod.

Meanwhile “BAE Systems is still the clear leader when it comes fuzz busters, also known as radar warning systems,” he notes. “A new company named Zel Technologies also received $165 million to help develop counter-threat technologies and urgent mission solutions. A very large program – the Surface Electronic Warfare Program (SEWIP), led by Lockheed Martin – is also still strong.

“Lastly, the Navy recently awarded a $180 million contract called Combat Environment Instrumentation Systems (CEIS) to 12 companies to study and develop a prototype system that integrates/fuses EW, radar, communications, and information operations into multifunction aperture to jam adversary computers and electronics,” Curran says. “In other words using radar to essentially jam computer networks, other radars, etc.”

“When it comes to programs of record the Global Hawk is getting a good deal of funding from the Air Force for capability investment and payload sensors,” Blades says. “Northrop Grumman is upgrading the sensors to bring U2 capability to the platform. They are spending $300 to $400 hundred million every year just for Global Hawk. “Actually, less than half of this is for procuring upgrades. A considerable amount is still for capabilities enhancements through RDT&E.”

“The MQ-9 Reaper has obviously taken the place of the MQ-1 Predator in terms of procurement through 2021 with funding slowly decreasing over that period,” he continues. “This funding peaks in 2019 then starts to decrease as the platform is built out.

“For other major programs it depends on when people are making a forecast especially with the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB), which depending on when and who you ask will or will not have an unmanned portion,” Blades says. “I believe it will be optionally manned and have some portion unmanned. This program ramps up to $3 billion in funding in 2021 according the President’s FY 2018 budget request. The unmanned portion will possibly be loyal wingmen and may or may not be part of the LRSB procurement.”

Small UAS programs such as the RQ-11 Raven are slated to get about $300 to $600 million in funding through 2021, he continues. “Within the FY 2018 budget request Special Operations has a line item under unmanned and this is likely for a small UAS platforms with funding for $20 to $30 million a year.”

Other applications getting attention and funding include UAS as munitions and tethered UAS for persistent surveillance missions.

“Unmanned aircraft that function as loitering munitions are also having success such as the Switchblade, the L-3 Cutlass, and the Israelis have small loitering munitions of several different sizes,” Blades says. “These systems are only going to become more prevalent. They also have the potential to be launched from other unmanned aircraft.

“Tethered UAS only account for 2 percent of budget, but these drones are getting steady use,” he adds. “They provide a way around civil aviation regulations as they are not flying through the airspace, so fire departments and the like make use of them. The tethered platforms also function as test beds for testing sensors over long time periods.”

Unmanned undersea vehicles

Figure 1: The Knifefish unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) from General Dynamics Mission Systems continues to get funding for mine countermeasure applications. Photo courtesy of General Dynamics.

The unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) market “has been one of the few I’ve seen where military technology was not driving innovation,” Blades says. “Oil and gas companies were the ones funding development of these platforms. When the oil process market hit a downturn innovation started again from the military side.

“A lot of money was spent on extra large displacement UUVs, more of a submarine replacement. There was also a concentration of small UUVs that could form a swarm and do different things simultaneously. A lot of money is still being spent on LDUUV [large displacement UUV] and XLUUV [extra large UUV] as they are the largest contributors to UUV RDT&E funding.

Today “the primary mission of these platforms is mine countermeasures, which is the biggest segment and sees the most funding,” Blades continues. “These platforms are still mostly in R&D phases as they take a long time for test and evaluation. In the 2017, DoD officials spent $338 million out of the budget in RDT&E – most of it DARPA funding – while total procurement was only about $65 million. The U.S. is still highly in RDT&E phase and the rest of world is the same way.

“Regarding programs, $28 million has been scheduled for an unmanned maritime system called Sea Mob,” Blades says. “Other programs receiving funding include the General Dynamics KnifeFish, Swordfish, and Kingfish. Most of these are centered around mine countermeasures. Procurement for Swordfish and KingFish is around $3 to $6 million. That is not a lot funding and it mostly targets maintenance.” (See Figure 1).

REDWOOD CITY, CA. August 3, 2017— Gumstix®, Inc., the leader in design-to-order embedded systems, announces three new modules in Geppetto for custom LoRa® device designs and a suite of Gumstix hardware to support LoRaWAN™, a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN).

In Geppetto® D2O platform, IoT designers can design and order gateway and nodes hardware with any SoC, network connection, and hardware feature they choose in minutes. During the design process, users can compare alternatives for features and costs, create multiple projects and receive complete custom BSPs and free automated documentation on demand with all saved designs. Designers are able to go straight from a design to an order in one session with no engineering required.

LoRa Transceiver Geppetto Module provides an easy low-power solution for long range wireless data transmission. The advanced command interface offers rapid time to market. IoT applications for this module include automated meter reading, home and building automation, wireless alarm and security systems, and industrial monitoring and control.

LoRa Gateway and Concentrator Geppetto Module provides a header for the RHF0M301 LoRaWAN Gateway module, capable of providing LPWAN with a range of 5 to 15km. The RHF0M301 features long range communications, high stability, and multi channel and multi spread factor receiving. Targeted for designers developing for smart city, wisdom agriculture, metering (water meter, electric meter, or gas meter), or other long range IoT applications. Available in European and American frequency bands.

“We are excited to support the IoT and LoRa market with a complete, low cost, and simple hardware design-to-order platform,” says Gordon Kruberg, Gumstix CEO, “The integration of the The LoRa Gateway and Node modules into Geppetto® D2O is core to our mission: letting innovators take their designs to market as quickly and reliably as possible, while focusing on their own magic, their software application.”

In addition to the Geppetto module release, Gumstix is releasing two new LoRa Gateway Development boards; the Overo Conduit, a palm-sized Ethernet-connected board priced at $56.00. The Pi Conduit supporting the Raspberry Pi Compute Module board with Ethernet and a NimbeLink Skywire connector for LTE access priced at $84.00. Also being released, is a node designed for rugged environments, the Strata Weather Station with the ATmega microcontroller, LoRa transceiver and environmental sensors priced at $105.00.

Designers can use the dev boards for prototyping or can copy and modify the boards to create their own custom LoRa gateway or node design in minutes in Geppetto® D2O. Gumstix products and quantity discounts are available at the Gumstix online store.

About Gumstix, Inc.

As a global leader in design-to-order hardware and manufacturing solutions. Gumstix® gives its customers the power to solve their electronic design challenges with Geppetto® D2O — the online design-to-order system– and a broad portfolio of small computers and embedded boards. In addition to engineers and industrial designers, Gumstix® helps students, educators, and makers unlock their creative ideas to bring them to market. Since pioneering the concept of an extremely small computer-on-module (COM) with a full implementation of Linux in 2003, the company has grown to support over 20,000 diverse customers. Gumstix systems have launched some of the world’s coolest products – from phones to drones – on commercial, university, and hobbyist workbenches in over 45 countries. For more information, visit www.gumstix.com

REDWOOD CITY, CA. July 11, 2017— Gumstix®, Inc., the leader in design-to-order embedded hardware systems, announced the release of AutoDoc, a new feature in the Geppetto® Design-To-Order (D2O) system. The AutoDoc feature creates free automated technical documentation with each hardware device designed and saved online in Geppetto® D2O.

Geppetto’s AutoDoc feature provides instant detailed connection information for all modules in a user’s design, including pin assignments, chip configurations and features, and links to manufacturers’ technical specifications. Free AutoDoc PDFs are generated automatically from the most recent saved version of a user’s design in seconds, delivering valuable technical specifications and information to developers, engineers, IoT designers, and their teams.

“Today if you can get a kernel working with a board in a week you are a star, “ says Gordon Kruberg, Gumstix CEO, “AutoDoc is revolutionary to the work process, eliminating hours of work in an instant, and putting all relevant information into one location.”

A layout diagram, a 3D-rendered image, and connection and power graphs provide graphical representations of the design while details like bus addresses, interrupt GPIOs and included ICs are included in the module descriptions to help programmers get an early start on development. Modules are indexed by category and hyperlinked within the document, instantly creating an informative, easy-to-navigate user manual. Review a complete Gumstix Pi Compute USB-Ethernet AutoDoc built for the Raspberry Pi Compute or design and save a board in Geppetto® to use AutoDoc.

Geppetto® D2O, is a free online design and production tool for creating custom expansion boards. A hardware design can be completed in hours, and ready to ship in fifteen business days. During the design process, users can compare alternatives for features and costs, create multiple projects, and go straight from a design to an order in one session. Gumstix engineers verify all Geppetto-manufactured devices before shipping. The initial total manufacturing cost is $1999 with reduced rates for quantity discounts and repeat board spins. Gumstix products and quantity discounts are available at the Gumstix online store.

About Gumstix, Inc.

As a global leader in design-to-order hardware and manufacturing solutions. Gumstix® gives its customers the power to solve their electronic design challenges with Geppetto® D2O — the online design-to-order system — and a broad portfolio of small computers and embedded boards. In addition to engineers and industrial designers, Gumstix® helps students, educators, and makers unlock their creative ideas to bring them to market. Since pioneering the concept of an extremely small computer-on-module (COM) with a full implementation of Linux in 2003, the company has grown to support over 20,000 diverse customers. Gumstix systems have launched some of the world’s coolest products – from phones to drones – on commercial, university, and hobbyist workbenches in over 45 countries. For more information, visit www.gumstix.com.

BEDFORD, NH, JUNE 5, 2017 – Haigh-Farr, Inc. (Haigh-Farr), the world leader in the design, development, manufacture and test of conformal high-performance antennas for the defense, space and commercial industry, is pleased to announce that the Company has been re-acquired by its original owners, David and Norene Farr. With Norene Farr assuming the position of CEO and David Farr as President, Haigh-Farr will now be certified as a Woman Owned Small Business.

Haigh-Farr, in business for over fifty years, 45 of those years owned by the Farr family, was sold by the Farr’s to the Vitec Group, plc in 2011. The Farr’s continued to run the business during Vitec’s ownership. With Vitec’s decision to exit the Military and Aerospace market space in 2016, the Farr’s have re-acquired the business effective May 9, 2017 effecting an essentially seamless transition of ownership.

“Throughout our association with Vitec, we remained passionate about the business, including our employees, customers, the technology and contribution to the end users of our products. It was an easy decision to re-acquire the Company, and continue our heritage of delivering high performing antenna products now and into the future,” states Norene Farr, CEO of Haigh-Farr.

The acquisition will have no impact on the operations of Haigh-Farr. The facilities, personnel, processes and day-to-day running of the Company will remain as it has been even during Vitec’s ownership – in the hands of the Farr’s.

Haigh-Farr has extensive experience designing, manufacturing and qualifying antennas and their support equipment for a multitude of airborne applications, including launch vehicles, space craft, missiles, projectiles, targets, UAV’s, commercial aircraft and race cars.

The different roles that unmanned aerial systems (UASs) play – whether used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), search-and-rescue missions, or photography – are prompting engineers to design more RF and microwave content into these systems to meet all the Department of Defense (DoD) as well as civilian requirements.

Increased intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) demands don’t come without engineering challenge. Today’s ISR payload designers face challenges that range from boosting the digital domain to handling the electromagnetic spectrum. Radio-frequency (RF) and microwave technology play a large part in enabling and meeting those diverse requirements.

“We’re seeing a lot of increased radio-frequency microwave (RFMW) content across the entire [UAS] market space, which includes everything from the upper-end copters though military systems, including those with global range and global endurance,” says Sean D’Arcy, strategic marketing, Aerospace and Defense, at Analog Devices in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. “This ranges from a high-end quadcopter that may be used for law enforcement all the way up to something like a Global Hawk. Both military and civilian applications are experiencing growing needs in this area.”

Sanjay Parthasarathy, senior vice president of strategy at Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions in Washington, is also seeing an increase in UAS RF content. The increase “is trending higher primarily because of three things: communications, surveillance, and effects. There’s more need for autonomy, more need for sensors – the RF and millimeter wave sensors – together with more frequency agility. Of course, longer persistence and survivability is critical to today’s [UAS] applications,” he says.

Military program managers also want more dynamic range from their RF and microwave systems. “Receivers need to acquire a wide range of signals from very low to very high power levels in the presence of intentional and unintentional interfering signals,” says Mark Faulkner, chief technologist, RF and Microwave Systems, at Mercury Systems in Los Angeles. “At the front end, what limits your dynamic range is typically the mixer; the higher the linearity of your mixer, the better. There’s always folks working on that problem; it’s one of the fundamental limitations to our systems. We have ways to get to 40 dBm [decibels per milliwatt], but at the cost of high LO [local oscillator] drive and DC power.”

For example, says Faulkner, “Let’s say in the [UAS], the RF has to process very high data rates – we’re looking at several things going across the channel right now. You have to run real-time video from your [UAS], probably GPS data, potentially a [communications] link, telemetry, and the ability to redirect assets. All of this places demands on the data rates and the RF links. You have to actually design systems that can handle that new capacity.”

Interestingly enough, the UAS challenges of the near future “may not be so much on the analog side, directly,” D’Arcy says. “What I see as the biggest challenge, and what I deal with a lot, is what to do with all the data that we can either pull out of, or put into, the analog side of the signal chain. We are at risk of over-driving the digital side.”

Digital domain

The overload of information that a UAS needs to process has a direct effect on how these systems are being designed. In fact, some designers are saying that the RF content is not increasing: “My assessment is that RF content is decreasing,” Faulkner says. “The reason I say that is because the digital domain is getting faster and faster. It’s actually going to replace some of the RF functions, and it already has in some cases,” Faulkner says. “A/D [analog-to-digital] converters are becoming so fast right now that we can already get rid of the second frequency conversion in our heterodyne dual-conversion downconverters. Just replace the second conversion with digital signal processing. We are moving these A/Ds closer to the antennae aperture as the speeds increase. I see that trend continuing.”

The change comes in response to the increased load on the digital domain and the understanding that engineers need to take into account those digital constraints, D’Arcy says. “This will range from things like the JESD204 [serial-interface] standards to designs that may have to feed multiple paths and multiple points in the digital-processing chain. Historically, the people on the digital side and the programmers and the software engineers had to take exactly what was given to them from the analog side. Now we’ve become sophisticated enough that we can actually design the analog side with what the digital mission had in mind to begin with.”

The emphasis on the digital side has pushed engineers to design differently. Along with new design methods come new challenges to solve. “Looking out as far as three years from now, because these A/Ds are now handling a lot of the RF and analog signal processing, it creates a bottleneck further downstream,” Faulkner says. “If you have an AESA [active electronically-scanned array] radar on a [UAS], and now you have 100 low-power A/Ds, one behind each AESA element, you have to be able to process 100 individual 100 GSPS [gigasamples per second] lines with low latency. That’s going to be the next challenge – more in the digital domain but it’s driven by this trend of A/Ds moving closer to the aperture.”

Electromagnetic spectrum

The digital side is not the only obstacle or design challenge within the UAS RF and microwave world. “There can be a lot of increased competition and interference across the RF and microwave spectrum, which could be radar applications or radios,” D’Arcy says. “Primarily, we have some limitations in frequencies and frequency allocations,” he adds. “There are some contentions in those spaces. There’s a lot of geometry that is very specific to payloads and also some stabilization that’s inherent in the airborne systems themselves.”

For example, “You’re using [UASs] to perform some long-endurance ISR that you may see in the military space,” he explains. “You have a situation where you’re trying to cover and monitor these large swaths of the spectrum. You’re trying to pull out very specific signatures and profiles, both in real time and then in post-processing. This is becoming, as the use of the RF and microwave spectrum expands, an even more complex challenge. This occurs in the ISR space, not just in the military, but you’re also starting to see this in law enforcement as well.

“Aside from things that you may communicate – along with the command and control of the beast itself or the bird itself – you’re actually looking at how you send critical data back to the ground,” D’Arcy says.

The different roles of UASs

The demand for unmanned systems to play different roles, whether military or civilian, has forced engineers to look at various aspects. These include modularity, which can mean that “the requirements often want to go through a respin without changing the base-level hardware,” Faulkner says. “If you can make something modular and configurable, such that you can enhance its functionality later, maybe through software, that’s another key challenge that we’re facing these days.”

Designers have to figure out where RF and microwave content belong in the UAS scheme, Parthasarathy says. “In the end, where is this going? If you look at it from the perspective of what unmanned systems eventually want us to do, I think there are several drivers. One is the whole idea of autonomy. The second one is manned and teaming. Think about words that are used, like swarming or man/unmanned teaming. The problem really is how to accomplish multiple missions – so the demands are similar to those of communications customers: a wider frequency range, more agility, directed links, and protected communications.

“On the surveillance side, of course radar is a big thing,” he continues. “Both in the sense-and-avoid perspective to ensure safety and operations, especially operating in national airspace, but also from a perspective of sense in synthetic aperture radars (SARs) and imagery radars. What users are looking for in our technologies for surveillance is technology that enables us to span various bands. Finally, on the effects side, it’s all about more autonomy, the sense of communications enablement.”

Analog Devices’ HMC 1099 power amplifier (Figure 1) addresses some of these challenges. “The HMC 1099 is a 10-watt, gallium-nitride (GaN) power amplifier, in about the one to 10 gigahertz range,” D’Arcy explains. “It provides a wide instantaneous bandwidth, but also has a really low power consumption. It is designed for applications such as radio, communication systems, phased arrays. It could be either in the radar space or it could be in the phased antenna space.”

Some time ago, when designers started thinking about unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) applications, concerns were raised that the undersea environment might be so different or exotic that standard solutions would need to be significantly modified. To the surprise of many, however, it was found that there is significant commonality between unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and UUV environments. There are, to be sure, unique aspects to each type of platform, but in general, standard rugged military commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) embedded solutions are applicable to both.

The U.S. Navy sees great potential in the use of unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs), which already see active duty today in such missions as searching for and removing mines and collecting oceanographic data. The range and scope of missions with which these platforms are tasked is sure to expand rapidly if the proliferation of uses for unmanned air and ground vehicles is any predictor.

According to a 2016 forecast from MarketsandMarkets, the overall UUV market – including commercial, defense, and homeland-security applications – is on track to nearly double, from $2.29 billion in 2015 to $4 billion by 2020. It’s expected that these vehicles, whether small enough to be launched from a submarine’s torpedo tubes or 51 feet long like Boeing’s Echo Voyager, will take on more and more autonomy and will be sent on increasingly complex missions, such as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and situational awareness. These types of compute-intensive applications will drive big increases in the amount of processing and networking capabilities that need to be deployed on UUVs. The good news is that many of the COTS solutions already developed, deployed, and field-proven on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are also suitable for use on UUVs. The challenge for UUVs, just as it is for their airborne and ground siblings, often comes down to size, weight, and power – especially power.

The trick for UUV system designers is how best to optimize the mission payload while taking into consideration the limits of the underwater vehicle’s power source, which ultimately determines maximum endurance, distance, and speed. By definition, UUVs must travel through the thick medium of water, which means that it takes eight times the amount of energy to enable it to go twice as fast. That’s why there’s a technology race on to develop the best way to power UUVs. Power candidates today range from environmentally propelled wave gliders to electrical batteries, such as lithium-ion designs, to fuel engines and cells. Very recently, for example, Aerojet Rocketdyne received a contract from the U.S. Navy to develop technology that enables a UUV’s battery to be wirelessly and remotely recharged while undersea.

COTS vendors have a big role to play in helping to expand the capabilities of UUVs by applying their expertise in miniaturizing electronics and ruggedizing for harsh environments. The SWaP constraints typical of UAVs are similar to those found in underwater vehicles. What’s more, the same system architectures, technologies, module, and line-replaceable unit (LRU) approaches can be used to speed development and bring down cost. There are some differences, though, when deploying COTS systems undersea versus in the air. Some of those differences actually make life easier for the UUV designer and add requirements distinct from those confronted by airborne system integrators.

Cool it

It’s safe to assume that for most COTS system designers the underwater environment is an unfamiliar one. It may come as a happy surprise, then, to find out that the one of the biggest differences (and advantages) that UUVs have over air and ground vehicles is that they operate in what has been called the biggest heatsink in the world. As a result, providing efficient thermal management is much less troublesome underwater. In fact, for some designs, water can actually be allowed to flow through the interior of the UUV to directly cool isolated payload chambers.

Cooling is a challenge for UAVs for the simple reason that there are fewer molecules in the air at higher altitudes. In the case where UAV system requirements provide no airflow for cooling electronics, thermal management is more difficult. The upside for UUV system designers is that a COTS system built to operate at high altitude is also one that can be trusted to perform well underwater. In fact, cooling demands are much more rigorous for UAVs flown where there is no air than they are for systems deployed in a sealed chamber, as is the case with many UUV subsystems.

UUV system designers also don’t have to worry about altitude. For airborne applications, altitude can be of concern because of its potential effect on components, such as electrolytic capacitors, which are susceptible to failure at higher altitudes. UAV system designers must make sure that they are using components that are altitude-rated for the intended usage. For example, helicopters are generally satisfied with a device that can operate as high as 15,000 feet, while a surveillance aircraft may need devices that can function at altitudes from 30,000 to 60,000 feet. Airborne COTS systems typically must pass MIL-STD-810 altitude testing in an altitude simulation chamber to validate operation at the altitude required by the intended application.

Different for UUVs: Shock testing

While altitude is not a requirement for UUVs, they may have very different shock and vibration requirements than UAVs. For example, UUV testing might require simulating the effects of a torpedo hit. Certifying for this type of threat means that UUV subsystems may need to prove reliability for the relevant frequencies covered by MIL-S-901D, a U.S. Navy standard for shock testing. In this case, the COTS solution intended for deployment onboard a UUV might need to survive a floating barge test, where it is exposed to an explosive shock. Or, alternatively, shock testing might involve a 901D hammer test, during which the electronics are hard-mounted against a metal plate and then struck with a large hammer-like pendulum device that creates massive amounts of G-forces.

SoCs across the board

Overall, there is a great amount of commonality in the requirements of COTS solutions for UUVs, UAVs, and even unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). For example, all three platforms can use system-on-chip (SoC) technologies: Because SWaP is a key issue, the use of Intel and ARM-core SoC-based mobile class processors, which consolidate CPU, I/O, and memory controllers all within a single IC package – such as an Intel Atom 3800 series processor – is beneficial. Having the option to select a single chip that combines a processor, its companion chipset, and graphics processor (like with the Intel Atom), or to combine a higher performance CPU and integrated GPU (like with the Intel Core i7 products) helps to reduce space and weight for the physical boards and therefore the overall physical size of the system. Moreover, each of these architectures uses advanced power management technologies, making them much more efficient from a MIPS [millions of instructions per second] or FLOPS [floating-point operations per second] per watt perspective. For that reason, they are being used increasingly in applications, such as UUVs, where power sensitivity is present.

A good solution for UUV components are LRUs that cool through passive natural convection; in these, heat is radiated through the thermal mass of the chassis outward without any moving parts, liquid, or air flow. Because the chassis doesn’t need to be bolted down for heat to be conducted downward to a cold plate, these types of subsystems are much easier to thermally manage and integrate and can be located in a much wider variety of places within a platform. An example of rugged LRUs that cool with natural convection are Curtiss-Wright’s Parvus DuraCOR mission computers and DuraNET network switches (Figure 1).

Figure 1: The DuraNET 20-11 switch supports IEEE-1588 PTP, which is used in both UUV and UAV applications.

Whether the platform is a UUV or UAV, the mission will typically require communications, computing, and sensors. The target environment, whether air, ground, or sea, will determine which types of sensors need to be supported. For example, a UAV would need FLIR [a forward-looking infrared camera], while a UUV would call for sonar. Although the payloads between the various types of vehicles will be different, the basic COTS electronics won’t vary that much.

Another area of commonality between UUVs and UAVs appears to be the use of Ethernet as the network backbone of choice. The underlying infrastructure for both platforms will use the same traditional Ethernet interface connectivity and can be built using the same COTS building blocks. Additionally, IEEE-1588 Precision Timing Protocol (PTP) synchronization over the network is also increasingly a common trait between the undersea and aerial vehicles.

Mike Southworth serves as product marketing manager for Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions, where he is responsible for the small-form-factor rugged mission computers and Ethernet networking subsystem product line targeting size, weight, and power (SWaP)-constrained military and aerospace applications. Southworth has more than 15 years of experience in technical product management and marketing communications leadership roles. He holds an MBA from the University of Utah and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Brigham Young University.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., April 11, 2017 — The Embedded Vision Summit, held at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California, May 1-3, is the only event focused exclusively on the technologies, hardware, and software that bring visual intelligence to products. The 2017 Summit presents the latest practical techniques and technologies for vision-based product development, and illuminates the commercial landscape, trends, and business opportunities in this fast-growing market. It will inspire participants to use vision technology in new ways and to empower them with the know-how they need to integrate vision capabilities into products. Participants will learn the business implications of vision technologies, as well as how to bring computer vision into cloud applications, embedded systems, mobile apps, and wearables.

“With breathtaking speed, computer vision is transitioning from a research topic to a ubiquitous technology in applications from autonomous vehicles to retail analytics to toys,” says Jeff Bier, founder, Embedded Vision Alliance. “The Embedded Vision Summit brings together more than 1,200 industry innovators, top technologists, business executives, and experienced engineers — game changers from around the world who are creating ‘machines that see.’”

The event features more than 90 expert presenters in 4 conference tracks covering every aspect of computer vision. Keynote speakers include Marc Pollefeys, Director of Science for Microsoft HoloLens, who will present on recent advances in 3D computer vision and mixed reality, and Professor Jitendra Malik, former Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California at Berkeley, who will review progress in deep visual understanding.

The event’s Vision Technology Showcase features more than 100 demonstrations of commercially-available computer vision components and solutions—both in hardware and software—from more than 50 top suppliers. Day 3 of the conference features in-depth hands-on Vision Technology Workshops presented by Allied Vision, Khronos Group, Synopsys, and VeriSilicon.

The event is organized by the Embedded Vision Alliance, a worldwide industry partnership of technology providers and end-product companies who are enabling innovative and practical applications using computer vision.

Unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) are pushing boundaries and evolving in innovative ways – often drawing design inspiration from nature – to carry out a variety of military missions.

By drawing design inspiration from nature, unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) are evolving to become downright innovative and stealthy and, in many cases, capable of carrying payloads that can be customized for a wide variety of military missions.

One of the most well-known UUVs is Lockheed Martin’s Marlin, which is capable of fully independent operation. The U.S. Navy can use Marlin “for a variety of undersea applications such as below water intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and small payload deliveries,” says Tim Fuhr, director of autonomous maritime systems for Lockheed Martin. “Marlin can go where submarines and manned vessels can’t or don’t want to go, and use its sensors, communication, and data reduction capabilities.”

Sea mines are one of the most formidable challenges the Navy faces, and finding and mapping them “is good usage of UUVs,” Fuhr says. “UUVs like Marlin can be outfitted to be a single-sortie detect-to-engage chain, coupled with the right sensors, target recognition software, and an expendable mine neutralizer.”

Another well-known UUV is “Knifefish,” which was created by Bluefin Robotics Corp. and has since become part of General Dynamics Mission Systems. Its standard model uses a wide variety of sensors to conduct its operations, including inertial navigation systems, Doppler velocity logger, compasses, and sound-velocity sensors. Knifefish’s payload is a low-frequency broadband synthetic aperture sonar to detect buried mines.

“Knifefish provides search, detection, classification, and identification of buried, bottom, and volume mines in high-clutter environments in a single pass – with minimal intervention by human operators and reduced overall mine countermeasures mission timeline,” says Matt Graziano, a director of the Maritime and Strategic Systems line of business within General Dynamics Mission Systems. “The proliferation of relatively low-cost and easily deployed underwater mines poses a unique threat to naval operations and maritime security.” (Figure 1.)

UUV payloads

As far as payloads being carried by UUVs, the ability to customize for specific missions is highly desirable. “We have multiple Marlin vehicles, and each is outfitted slightly differently with COTS [commercial off-the-shelf] parts, custom sensors, and communications electronics,” Fuhr notes. “It’s straightforward to customize the vehicles for a particular application as long as the electronics are compatible with Marlin’s size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements.”

“Autonomy, data-processing capabilities, energy systems, and underwater communication systems are the main areas of development and challenge,” in UUV development today, according to Fuhr. “Energy-storage systems define the size of UUVs because the vehicle must carry its own energy source, which has to last for the duration of an intended mission. A UUV like Marlin wants to maximize mission range, minimize detectability, and have the capacity to be a data and communications node – in both single-asset and multiple-asset mission scenarios.”

Where is UUV technology heading next? Lockheed Martin is focusing on “coordinated development of extra-large UUVs for large payload capabilities; large-diameter systems for submarine-related operations; small UUVs for mine countermeasures and missions where expendability is desired; and cooperative behaviors between UUVs, unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),” Fuhr says. “Another key element is interoperability with other assets, and the ability to enable and participate in multidomain operations.”

Emerging innovations

Other defense prime contractors, government laboratories, and university teams are exploring innovations in the UUV realm. There are too many to note them all, but here are a few exceptional ones.

Release the CRACUNS!

Seemingly something straight out of science fiction, researchers at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory recently developed the Corrosion Resistant Aerial Covert Unmanned Nautical System, dubbed the CRACUNS, which is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can stay on station hidden below water, and then launch into the air to perform a variety of missions. (Figure 2.)

Figure 2: CRACUNS can be launched from a fixed position underwater or from an unmanned undersea vehicle. Image courtesy of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

The ability to “Release the CRACUNS” is ushering in new capabilities not previously possible with UAV or UUV platforms. Its ability to operate within the harsh littoral environment, as well as its payload flexibility, means that CRACUNS can be used for a wide array of missions. Its low cost is a bonus that makes it expendable, allowing for use of large numbers of vehicles for high-risk scenarios.

The most innovative feature of CRACUNS? The researchers say that it can remain at and launch from a significant depth or from a UUV without needing structural metal parts or machined surfaces. To do this, the designers fabricated a lightweight, submersible, composite airframe capable of withstanding water pressure while submerged. Sensitive components are protected from a corrosive saltwater environment by being sealed within a dry pressure vessel, while motors receive protective coatings.

Undersea navigation

Another key advance currently underway is focused on undersea navigation. BAE Systems is working to develop an undersea navigation system for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to provide precise global positioning throughout the ocean basins. (Figure 3.)

Figure 3: BAE Systems is developing an undersea navigation system, called POSYDON, for DARPA, with the goal of allowing undersea vehicles to navigate below the ocean’s surface. Image courtesy of BAE Systems.

The Positioning System for Deep Ocean Navigation (POSYDON) program’s goal is to enable underwater vehicles to accurately navigate while remaining below the ocean’s surface. Intriguingly, POSYDON will tap some hardcore physics to create a positioning, navigation, and timing system designed specifically to permit vehicles to remain underwater by using multiple, integrated, long-range acoustic sources at fixed locations around the oceans.

BAE Systems has more than 40 years of experience developing underwater active and passive acoustic systems: “We’ll use this same technology to revolutionize undersea navigation for POSYDON by selecting and demonstrating acoustic underwater GPS sources and corresponding small-form-factor receivers,” says Joshua Niedzwiecki, director of Sensor Processing and Exploitation for BAE Systems.

The vehicle instrumentation that will be needed to capture and process acoustic signals will also be developed as part of the program. BAE Systems plans to use its capabilities in the areas of signal processing, acoustic communications, interference cancellation, and antijam/antispoof technologies. The company is collaborating with researchers from the University of Washington, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of Texas at Austin for the POSYDON program.

This kit pairs Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx Development Kit with a BCON Dart®, the latest camera series from Basler, a world leader in vision technology. This power-packed combination is the fastest path for embedded imaging application development.

SPIE DCS is the leading global sensing and imaging event, drawing attendees from commercial and defense sectors working on next generation designs in areas of robotics, test & measurement, unmanned systems, machine vision, and many others. Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx platform (www.criticallink.com/mitysom-5csx-dev-kit/) is designed for embedded applications across these areas, ensuring a faster time to market and a significantly reduced development budget. Add in integration with Basler’s dart series, the result is development platform perfectly fit for embedded vision products.

At Critical Link’s booth #219 you’ll see how a dart with BCON for LVDS works using an edge detection application running on the MitySOM-5CSx. The demo features real-time image processing in the MitySOM’s Cyclone V SoC, using dual-core Cortex-A9 ARMs and FPGA fabric, and leveraging IP Cores from Altera’s VIP Suite. Images feed from the MitySOM-5CSx directly to a display port monitor with no PC in the loop – a key out-of-the-box feature for embedded applications.

A fully-bundled kit will be available from Critical Link in early Q2, 2017. Contact us today at info@criticallink.com to ensure earliest delivery.

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link (www.criticallink.com) is an embedded systems engineering firm offering customizable system-on-modules (SOMs) and imaging platforms for industrial, medical, scientific, and defense applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering services include design, development, and production. Critical Link is a premier Partner in the ImagingHub by Basler, a Platinum Member of the Altera (Intel) Design Solutions Network, a member of the Intel IoT Solutions Alliance, and is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.